


Sketches

by Xambonie



Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Stucky - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-29
Updated: 2014-07-29
Packaged: 2018-02-10 21:05:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2040144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xambonie/pseuds/Xambonie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He managed to get Bucky out of the museum before he started demanding to see a manager. Steve wasn’t even sure if museums had managers but, with the way Bucky was now, he would demand the museum to hire a manager just so that he could yell at them.</p>
<p>___________________________________</p>
<p>Bucky learns that when Steve woke up, his possessions from the past were never returned to him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sketches

After the events in DC, Steve had figured it would take months, even years to find Bucky. He figured it would take not only time, but resources as well. Tony had the resources Steve knew he needed to find his best friend, but even then, his gut was telling him that moving into the Avengers Tower just yet (like Tony was so often bugging him about) wasn’t the right move. His gut was telling him to keep the same little apartment in DC, where Bucky already knew he was. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Bucky’s ability to find him these days – or even his ability to break through Tony’s security if he did move. This way just seemed… easier.

When Bucky had shown up in his apartment only a month after disappearing, Steve was happy to know that his gut made the right decision.

While it was decidedly easier having Bucky just show up at his door rather than having to look for him, the following months had been far from easy. While Bucky had a vague remembrance of who he was, there was a lot that was missing and the process of correcting that was slow and often rough. On good days, Bucky was only plagued with nightmares. Miracle days resulted in having a perfect day – no nightmares, no panic attacks, and no sign of PTSD in the slightest (These days were few and far between). Bad days were just… bad. They occurred more often than anybody would like and often left Bucky incapacitated for the entire day. On a few occasions, the flashbacks and panic attacks coupled with the nightmares and anxiety was enough to bring forth the silent and cold presence that plagued Bucky after every mind wipe. Steve had to take to putting out winter advisories on these days after Bucky had tried to kill Sam with a tennis ball. Luckily, Sam had excellent reflexes.

Over a year after Bucky’s return and Steve was happy to say they were seeing a lot more good days than bad recently. The bad were almost nonexistent and very good days were occurring more than Steve could count. He looked down at Bucky – who had his head in Steve’s lap while watching Adventure Time – and couldn’t help but laugh before carding his fingers through the man’s hair. Bucky looked up at Steve, giving him a confused look at the sound, and Steve just gave a small shake of his head in return.

“It’s nothing.”

With a shrug from Bucky, Steve just went back to reading his book while his fingers never stopped their movement in Bucky’s hair. It wasn’t long after that Bucky looked back up at Steve and pried the book out of his hands so that he could look at Steve’s face.

“I’m bored.”

Steve just laughed and rolled his eyes. “Well then do something about it. Preferably something that doesn’t involve stealing my books.”

Bucky scoffed at Steve and eyed the book he had stolen, closing it and reading the title out loud. “Pop Culture for Dummies… Oh my god, Steve!” He groaned and tossed the book aside, looking up at Steve in exasperation. “All I can say is that’s not as bad as _The Future and You_. Tony is still laughing about that one, I hope you know that. Nat said he was in a business meeting and telling the investors how he had gotten Captain America to read all of these ridiculous books. They laughed Steve.”

Steve looked down at Bucky and raised a brow at him. “How did Nat get into one of Tony’s investors meetings?”

Bucky groaned and rolled his eyes. “Not the point Steve! The point is th-” He cut himself off when he heard Steve start laughing and huffed. “Punk.” He sat up and gave Steve his best pout until the other man stopped laughing. “I’m bored Steve.”

Steve chuckled and smiled softly at Bucky, placing a soft peck on his lover’s pouty lips. “What do you want to do Jerk?”

Bucky smiled and stood up, turning off the tv. “I want to go to the Smithsonian so I can point and laugh at how ridiculous you look in all of those pictures.” He started pulling on his boots, not even waiting for Steve to answer him. He could hear the other man shuffling behind him, grabbing his own boots, and Bucky couldn’t help but smile. “Speaking of the Smithsonian, did they ever get your uniform back?” He looked back at Steve, who was pulling on his jacket, and smiled.

Steve chuckled and grabbed Bucky’s hand, pulling him out the door. “I gave it back to them after I made them promise not to fire the poor night watchman on guard when I snuck in. It’s not really fair to him. Nobody expects to be on the lookout for Captain America stealing from a national museum.” He shrugged as he pulled on his bike helmet and expertly swung a leg over his bike.

Bucky just let out a bark of laughter as he mimicked Steve’s movement, sitting on the back of the bike and laughing into the helmet.

&

When they made it to the museum, Bucky made a beeline for the Captain America exhibit. Steve chuckled and shoved his hands in his pockets, following at his own pace. He knew that, as much as Bucky joked about laughing at the pictures, that wasn’t the real reason Bucky wanted to come here. In the time after the Battle of New York, Steve had found that coming to the exhibit helped when it came to coping. It was like a little area of solitude where Steve could just soak back into the past and not have to worry about the quickly moving present. He could only imagine how it helped Bucky, who was still having trouble remembering everything from before the fall.

Steve found Bucky standing in front of Steve’s old sketchbooks, just staring at the pages with a frown on his face. Stepping next to the man, Steve took Bucky’s hand and gave him a concerned look. “Flashback?”

Bucky looked up at Steve and shook his head. “No. Just don’t like that they didn’t give you back your sketchbooks,” he murmured, gently touching the glass in front of him. “I mean, they aren’t even displaying the good ones. Who cares that you drew fruit, all artists do that. They aren’t even showing one of the thousands that you drew of me. They should be showing that one that you drew at the shipyard when you came to pick me up that one day. It was one of the most detailed ones and the way you drew the workers, it was amazing. Or that one where we went to the park and you drew all of the vendors lining the street. That one was cool.” His voice was coming out quiet with a soft edge to his, obvious nostalgia seeping through. Steve was just amazed that he could remember those.

“They don’t even have all of your sketchbooks out. I mean, what’s the point in keeping any in storage?” Bucky scoffed before looking up at Steve, who had a shocked and confused face. “What’s with that face?”

Steve blinked and shrugged, looking back at the sketchbooks. “They don’t have all of my sketchbooks Bucky. Plenty of them went to private collectors. Tony gave me back everything that Howard had collected over the years. Luckily Howard had managed to snag my mother’s ring before somebody else did.”

Bucky stared at Steve as the man spoke, gears starting to click into place in his head. So that was the ring Steve wore around his neck with his dog tags. There was a nagging feeling at the back his mind though, like something important was still missing. His mother’s ring… His sketchbooks… “Where’s your family album Steve? Where’s Bucky Bear?”

“Hmm?” Steve looked back at Bucky, obviously having been lost in thought, then just shrugged. “Some guy in upstate New York has the album I think.” He blushed at the mention of his old stuffed animal and gave another shrug. “No idea what happened to Bucky Bear.”

Steve was pretty sure he hadn’t seen Bucky that angry since Margery Jacobs had rudely brushed him off for not only being small and sickly, but for being Irish of all things. Bucky had raged for days, telling off anybody who so much as looked at Steve sideways for days. Nothing could stop him then and Steve was pretty sure, as Bucky raged on and on about these ‘rude ass people not giving you back your things’ and ‘I gave you that bear when we were five!’, that he wasn’t going to get Bucky to stop now either.

He managed to get Bucky out of the museum before he started demanding to see a manager. Steve wasn’t even sure if museums had managers but, with the way Bucky was now, he would demand the museum to hire a manager just so that he could yell at them.

The second they got home, Bucky was on the phone while sitting at the laptop Stark had given them. Steve just sighed and kissed the top of Bucky’s head before calling Sam to go for a run. Nothing would stop Bucky now.

&

Much to Steve’s dismay, Bucky had spent a week angry about the injustice that society had cursed upon Steve for not giving him back his belongings. After that initial week though, things seemed to quiet down in the apartment. Another winter advisory had attacked Bucky and it taken another week to pull him out of that. Steve was sure Bucky had forgotten all about their trip to the museum.

That was until Tony showed up at their door in a fancy Armani suit and briefcase in hand. He gave Steve a quick greeting of ‘Capsicle’, before turning his attention to Bucky. “Bucky Bear! I have business in DC so I thought I’d hand over the goods personally.”

“I told you I’m not Bucky Bear.” and “Are you selling Bucky drugs?” fell out of the mouths of the other two men simultaneously. Tony just laughed.

“I’m offended Cap. I will have you know that I have never dealt drugs in my entire life.” He set his brief case onto the counter and popped it open, handing Bucky a manila envelope with TOP SECRET stamped across the front in red ink. At the questioning look from Bucky, Tony just grinned. “It’s more amusing that way. I don’t have much time though boys so I will be seeing you Buckster, Cap.” Another dirty look from Bucky and Tony was gone as fast as he had appeared.

Steve looked at Bucky, just the blank look and relaxed stance told Bucky all that Steve wanted to ask but wouldn’t. Because he knew that it was Bucky’s business to share if he wanted to. He didn’t want to just yet, so he just gave Steve a small kiss before grabbing his phone and hiding in their bedroom to make some calls.

It was only a few days before Bucky started getting packages and a lot of packages at that. He stored them in the spare bedroom with a large sign stating STEVE DO NOT TOUCH in both English and Russian. Steve really wanted to touch them but still, it was Bucky’s business to share if he wanted to. But if Steve said it didn’t bother him that Bucky was so obviously keeping something from him, he’d be lying through his teeth.

As the days went on more boxes arrived and soon Bucky was coming home with bags hanging off his arms before going into the spare room and closing the door.

All of this was just getting too weird for Steve.

It wasn’t until a month after the first package had arrived that Bucky took Steve’s hand and finally let him into the spare room. What Steve found were various boxes expertly wrapped in an Avengers Christmas wrapping paper that Steve didn’t even know existed. He did know it wasn’t Christmas and he couldn’t help but notice the smirk on Bucky’s face. Bucky shoved him towards the pile of gifts, then sat himself on the floor.

Steve sighed and smiled softly at Bucky, sitting across from him before grabbing the first box. Looking warily at Bucky, wondering if this was all a prank, he slowly pulled of the paper and opened the cardboard box. What he found inside was not at all what he expected. It was one of his old sketchbooks, he knew that the second he opened it. But the cover wasn’t the same. Bucky had had it rebound in a leather book cover as though it was a professional book of art. Steve looked at Bucky in shock, and as Bucky nodded towards the other boxes, his eyes grew even wider. He set the first sketch book down and started tearing into the others, finding sketch book after sketch book, all rebound in the same manner. As Steve took a careful look at them, he noticed that the spine of each book was carefully marked with a volume number and the dates of the pictures inside.

Steve could feel the tears welling up.

The two sat in silence, needing no words. Bucky pulled out three more boxes, handing the larger of the two to Steve first.

“I don’t know if I can take any more Buck.”

Bucky just smiled. “Just open it.”

With shaky hands, Steve pulled away the paper and actually started crying as he saw what was in the box. The family album just looked as it always had. Steve had to set it aside, unable to open it unless risk losing it and Bucky was already pushing the smaller of the boxes at him.

“Just two more Stevie. You can make it.”

Steve just laughed and started opening this next gift. Whatever he expected it to be, he definitely had not expected his mother’s jewelry box with everything neatly packed inside. He looked up at Bucky and shook his head. “Bucky you have just given me everything,” he murmured, holding the box close. His mother had never had much jewelry – they had been poor all his life. What she did have though, his father had splurged on and gotten her.

Bucky shook his head as he handed over one last box. “Not yet Steve. Not everything.”

Steve looked at Bucky, looking defeated. He was surrounded many so many important things, yet Bucky insisted there was one more? He took a deep breath to calm himself down before taking the last box from Bucky. He couldn’t help but note the excited look on Bucky’s face as he opened this one inside and found…

Steve quickly clasped a hand over his mouth to choke back a sob, unable to contain it anymore. With his free hand he pulled Bucky Bear out of the box and hugged it tight to his chest, squeezing his eyes shut.

Bucky carefully moved away the boxes and paper and gifts that lay between him and Steve and pulled the larger man into the tightest hug he could muster without hurting him. “I love you Steve.”

Steve could only nod as he pressed himself into the warmth surrounding him.


End file.
